Bloody Feathers
by MangaMagic
Summary: With the flock separated, they each have a foe to face. Whether it's Erasers, vampires, or werewolves - they are alone. When an even deadlier foe arrives, with another close behind - will the flock be able to survive through their own funerals?
1. Prolouge

**This is a story I decided to begin writing. And I know what your thinking (doesn't she have enough stories?) I agree with you, but I think this is actually one of my favorites - so much so that while I've been sitting around at our rental beach house for this week, I've written several chapters without even having published it yet - well now of course it is XD. So I hope you guys enjoy this because I do NOT own Maximum Ride or Twilight~**

* * *

><p>Prolouge<p>

Peace.

That was the only way to describe this feeling that made the look of happiness cross each of the faces of the flock.

Freedom from Itex's cloud of intimidation.

With Itex gone, the Erasers no longer chasing us 24/7, the remaining experiments living outside the confines of the cages they grew up in, and the School reduced to a pile of rubble - we finally had nothing to fear or run from.

We could live like normal people - well like normal mutants at least - and settle down in one place without the fear of being found again.

For years, and years we've wished for this feeling of glee again - the only time we ever felt this…free…was those two years we lived with Jeb, my so called father, after our escape from the School.

I not only loved this feeling - but I loved to see the bright smiles it left on the faces of the flock - and they always seemed the brightest when we soared hundreds of feet above the ground, the air beneath our wings, and the freedom of the open sky as we goofed around - even if we were trying to get somewhere.

Currently the flock was traveling towards Canada where my mother and sister Ella had moved to. We were stopping in a small diner in Central Washington for a "refill" of our stomachs before we spread our wings again and continued onto the Canadian border.

"I can't wait to see their house!" Nudge exclaimed, pointing her sausage armed fork into the air as she spoke. "I bet it's gonna be like one of those BIG Victorian mansions you see in those old movies! I wonder what color it is? Oh! Maybe it'll be a bunch of different colors like a rainbow house…Do those even exist? Rainbow houses? I wonder if the people who live in them are colorful-"

"And now we have officially tuned into "The Nudge Channel," I said dramatically, rubbing my forehead as Nudge continued to ramble on about people who live on rainbows.

"Hey Max?"

I turned my head with a smile to the small form of Angel sitting beside her brother opposite of me at the rounded booth. "What's up Ang?"

Angel smiled at the use of her nickname and chewed her mouthful of eggs before asking her question. "How much longer until we reach the border?"

I tapped my chin for a moment. "Um, if we stopped with all the dive-bombing and air acrobatics - we'd get there in about four hours tops?" I said, looking at the two mischief makers out of the corner of my eyes.

Iggy and Gazzy both gave sheepish laughs, averting their eyes - not even stopping in shoveling the piles of eggs and bacon into their mouths.

"Wow, when you said you had large appetites, you really meant it," our waitress laughed as she came back to refill our glasses, laughing when the younger kids - and Iggy - scrambled to chug down the white liquid.

I laughed nervously at the waitress. "Sorry, but manners have never been our strong point," I muttered, handing the woman my magic credit card.

"Believe me, my kids are worse," she confessed before walking off to charge the bill.

With our bill "paid" and our stomachs full we exited the diner and headed towards the back of the building for privacy.

A chill suddenly ran up my spin and I spun to look at the dense forest behind me as the others ascended to he sky.

'_Something doesn't feel right'_

"Is something wrong?" Fang asked, setting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

I slowly turned to look him in the eye. "I'm not sure…I just, feel like we're being watched."

He shrugged. "You're just being paranoid, years of being on high alert can do that to you."

I rolled my eyes, and nudged him with my shoulder when I passed by and unfurled my wings. "Being paranoid is my specialty."

He chuckled and followed behind me, rising into the air with several powerful flaps of my brown streaked wings.

And soon enough, we were flying over the forests of northern Washington - but the feeling had never left me, and it was becoming more and more hard to ignore.

I gazed down at the forest barely meters beneath our bodies, the dark foreboding feeling telling me that something was not right. I watched the trees closely, the forest floor peeking out from beneath it where the small gaps between the forest canopy did not cover.

"Max? What's making you so on edge?" Angel asked, flying up beside me and allowing her small immaculate white wings to brush against the tips of mine with each down stroke.

I shook my head slowly, my eyes not straying from the green trees beneath us. "I-I don't know…I just feel like we're being watched. I felt like this back at the diner, but it's worse now - I think someone's following us."

"But the Erasers are gone!" Gazzy exclaimed. "They shouldn't be following us anymore!"

"And that's where you're wrong," a deep foreign accent laughed

The flock pulled back in their flight, each screaming in shock when suddenly there in front of us were nearly a dozen Erasers hovered, another half-dozen armed fly-boys floating behind them.

"T-That's impossible…" I breathed, "you Erasers are supposed to be dead…"

The Eraser at the front of the group sneered at me, his yellowed over-grown fangs peeking out from his lips. "Oh believe me lassy, Itex will never be gone - you've only just chipped at the North American branch."

Behind me I could hear Nudge let out a chocked sob and Angel whimpered slightly as the Erasers slowly hovered closer.

And then they attacked.

We all swerved off in different directions, splitting the attackers into small numbers as they chased each of us. One Eraser came up next to me, swinging out his clawed hand with a growl.

Me, being more agile and accustomed to maneuvering in the air, ducked beneath the hand, and shot up to slam my fist into the underside of the Eraser's jaw with a deafening crunch.

Ah…You gotta love super strength~

Another Eraser had come up behind me while I had been distracted with the other one, and quickly raked its nail across my back. I let out a shrill scream, dropping several meters before catching myself just before I became impaled by the sharp points of the large fir trees beneath.

As quickly as I could, which was pretty fast if I do say so myself, I shot back into the air - knocking myself into the Eraser.

It fell down and disappeared among the trees, and I left it be for the moment - pretty sure that it wouldn't even be able to _stand_ after that.

My gaze wandered to the others to find they were faring just as well as I had - if not better. Several fly-boys found themselves blown to pieces by a small explosive was thrown by the two bomb-experts who were sharing a high-five.

Little Angel and Nudge were finishing off one last Eraser, and Fang had just disposed of a fly-boy before flying off to aid the girls.

I frowned for a moment as I watched the familiar battle ensue.

We had been so happy, nearly half a year since the destruction of the Itex facility, and it was only just now they were coming after us. I would never forgive them for that false sense of hope they had given the flock in that time (although I could never forgive any of the other things they did to us in the past either).

"MAX!" Angel screamed.

I turned to look at the curly-blond haired girl, her eyes widened in fear. She raised a shaking hand to the sky behind me, and I was almost scared to look - hoping it wasn't as horrifying as it seemed.

Slowly, I turned my head over my shoulder, flapping my wings harder as I turned to look.

My heart nearly stopped in my chest.

Almost hundreds of fly-boys and Erasers were waiting for us in the sky - creating an almost net like pattern in attempt to catch us.

And boy, did they want to catch us.

Nudge cried silently next to me, floating closer and using me as a shield from the wolf-men and guns.

"So close…" I breathed, clenching my hands into tight fists, the taut flesh straining against the bones of my knuckles. "We were so close - almost free."

"Iggy! It's time to bring out Big Boy Jr.!" the Gasman yelled.

"WHAT!" I screeched, turning and watching as Gazzy pulled a large package comprised of several foot long cylinders from Iggy's backpack. "YOU WERE MAKING BOMBS!"

The two would have grinned if the situation hadn't been so dire, and Gazzy lit the small fuse at the end of the bomb and set it hurling towards the Erasers.

We took off higher and as far away from the bomb as possible. When I turned I realized that we had all flown in different directions.

But it was too late.

The bomb exploded, taking out the Eraser's and fly-boys just as the two mischief makers planned. It started off as a small red orb, expanding in a swirl of dust and trees. And then it grew bigger, expanding rapidly - and we were still in range. When I saw the others fly off, I did the only thing I could think of.

I flew.

The perimeter of the explosion singed the tips of my wings as I took off, but I escaped it just as quickly.

I didn't know how far I flew, but it felt like hours; I didn't want to turn back.

But whenever I found my way back - I just hoped the others were all right.


	2. Chapter 1

_**This chapter is a view of each of the characters for the sake of learning their locations. This is the only chapter that will have all the characters POV's. All other chapters from here on out will be one character or two per chapter - to keep you interested~ XD Enjoy~**_

_**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Maximum Ride or Twilight - they belong to James Patterson and Stephanie Meyer**_

* * *

><p>Chapter 1<p>

_**The Gasman**_

Iggy and I had been hiding the Big Boy Jr. for nearly a month now. Even though we had no uses for small scale explosives or bombs anymore, didn't mean we would stop building them! We had created the Big Boy Jr. for the purpose of being a firework, but we had added to much of certain chemicals (and I'm supposed to be an expert at this stuff) and the firework became a lethal explosive.

We didn't know what we would use it for. We _had_ thought of using it to blow up the school that Dr. Martinez was planning to send us to - and yes, when nobody was there (we're not stupid). But when the Erasers had showed up, we had found no better way than to go out with a bang!

What we didn't expect, was for the explosion to be so...explosive?

When it ignited I had seen the looks on everyone's faces - and I was scared.

When that rush of super heated air and fire rushed toward me, I did the only thing I could think of.

Fly

I however, am not as fast as Max who can fly at nearly supersonic speeds (the cheater), but that explosion had sent me flying so far, so I didn't exactly have to do any of the wing flapping if you know what I mean.

I don't know how far I flew, but when I finally managed to land - although with a bit of crashing and hovering - I managed to land on the forest floor.

I hadn't moved since, I was so tired, yet the burning in my back and arms kept me from resting my eyes through the pain.

From what I could tell, my back had been burned badly, my arms only receiving the smallest of damage. My wings ached, and when I finally turned my head to look at my white wing spread out beside me, I noticed the ends were tipped black and crisp.

My shirt had been completely destroyed and I sat myself up long enough to slip my last spare one from my backpack over my wings, before replacing my blue windbreaker - the back had been burn a little, but luckily it had just been tied around my waist or it would have been nothing but dust.

'_Well, there goes the last of my energy'_ I thought bitterly as I gazed around at the scenery.

I examined my surroundings slowly, taking in the meter high trees and the damp humid air. I lay on a soft patch of moss and twigs, the canopy above giving the idea that it was night.

I stood up , nearly falling back to the ground if I hadn't caught myself on a stray limb of one of the nearby trees.

"I wonder how far it is to the nearest city…" I said, stepping forward and actually managing to make my way through the dense brush. I would have had an easier time getting through if my wings didn't hurt so much, and the terrain didn't make it any easier.

I took another step, and felt my balance shift beneath me before I fell forward and saw that the ground was meters beneath me.

I had just fallen of a freaking cliff.

And my last thought before I passed out was: _'Well, atleast it's onto more of that soft moss'_.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Iggy<strong>_

"_GAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!_"

A scream ripped through my throat as I clambered to grab at my wing, the feathered appendage hanging limply from my back as I lay trembling on the ground. It had to be broken, and unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to re set it without the help of someone else - that is unless I walked into a vet's office.

I couldn't tell where I was, everything looked like a mass of black to me - that kind of happens being _blind_ and all.

I could tell I was in the forest after awhile, when the hot humidity made my honey blond hair stick to my neck from my sweat, and the smell of the wet bark and sap hit my nose, and the crickets, bugs, and small animals made their ways though the underbrush.

Oh how I wish I could see for once in my life.

I lifted myself off the wet ground and stumbled forward, reaching out with my hand, touching the ground with my foot a few times before taking a step. It made me feel so useless.

First being blind - and now a bum wing.

A sound caught my attention, but I ignored it - although I couldn't be sure, it sounded like some kind of animal.

I took another step before tripping over a log and landing face-first into the soft moss.

"DAMN IT!"

I pulled myself forward until I found a tree, then gently laid my back against it and panted with exhaustion.

I could hear the animal again, the soft squish as it's feet touched the moist ground.

I cocked my head to the side and listened closely, but my senses were too muddled by the pain I was concentrating on and the millions of scents of the forest.

I just hoped whoever, or whatever, it was - they wouldn't kill me.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Angel<strong>_

"MAX!" I cried out, rubbing my tear filled eyes.

My body felt worse than it did during the experiments - and that was saying something. My small wings ached, my palms burned - raw and pink with blisters. My shoes had been burned away and the ends of my long blond curls had withered to become black and charred.

I winced and poked the small burn along the right side of my face, whimpering and continuing through the forest.

Every time a squirrel or a bug flew past my vision I would scream and duck, afraid that it was the Erasers again.

"Max…" I sobbed. "I'm scared…"

Out of the side of my vision a bush rustled and my body stiffened, stepping back to hide behind the nearest tree - blocking everything but my face from view as I peeked around the bark.

A small fawn stepped out of the bushes, it's small nose twitching as it sniffed the air. It's head turned to where I hid and it slowly but cautiously trotted towards me. It sniffed the air near me and stepped closer, staring at me with it's big brown eyes.

I smiled and patted it gently on the head. "Don't worry, I'm okay."

It sniffed again and nudged my hand gently.

"Do you know anywhere I can go to rest?" I asked in a whisper.

He small fawn bit onto the end of my white sundress and tugged me towards it before running off, me following behind it slowly.

Soon enough, a small cottage like house came into view, nestled next to a cliff side, and the fawn left me as soon as it had arrived.

And from inside I could hear the faint, but almost melodic voices of people.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Fang<strong>_

I had managed to pull out with only a few cuts and bruises, and a couple small blisters on my hands where I had shielded my face from the heat.

Currently I was circling over the blast-site, the blackened charred remains of the

trees that had been within the perimeter of the blast. I landed in the middle of the blackened forest, and kicked at the large elongated skull of an Eraser, the body simply nothing but charred bones and patches of fur where it's hands attempted to guard itself from the fiery orb.

"Serves the bastards right," I muttered, swiping the skull with a swift kick - sending it nearly a hundred meters in the opposite direction.

I let out a laugh of sick fascination and continued searching through the black field until the sight of a twitching form caught my eye. Off towards the edge of the field where the blast had been less severe, was the same Eraser who had been taunting us before hand - one that I had thought we had taken care off.

His entire left side was charred black, his body half-morphed into it's wolfed form. Skin was falling off in places, bone peaking through at it's elbow and knee. I was surprised the monster was even still alive - and my acute hearing could hear the rapid irregular thump of it's heart as it faltered in it's beats, beginning to give out.

Quickly, I walked up next to the Eraser and sent a sharp kick into it's side - making it let out a howl of pain and flop onto it's back. It snarled and stared up at me with it's reddened irises, glaring hatefully at my dark form.

I pressed my foot to the Eraser's chest with a snarl and pressed it against it's large ribcage - enjoying the dog-like whimper of pain that left it's fanged mouth.

"Why did you come after us! Tell me!"

The Eraser grinned and spit - which I have no idea how he did seeing as half the muscles in his face had been fried - and it landed on my cheek. "Wouldn't ya' like to know~" it sneered.

I glared down at it and pressed harder against it's chest - which must have been too hard (damn super strength always get's in the way) because I heard a sharp snap and the Eraser began to weakly claw at my boot.

"You.._guh_…you all are…_ah!_ You're all going to e-"

The Easer's voice cut off as it's red eyes rolled up into it's head, the rapid thumping it it's chest ceasing with one last loud _THUMP._

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair with a growl. _'Since when have I been such a sadist'_ I thought with a frown, shaking my head rapidly with confusion.

My gaze wandered up towards the sky where the rest of the fading smoke from the blast floated and then it traveled down towards the forest where I could hear the faint sounds of familiar screaming and sobs.

With my senses on high alert, I took off in a sprint to the forest - meeting it's edge in mere seconds I jumped over fallen logs and dodged branches until the sounds became clearer and I smacked a hand to my forehead as the voice screamed "BUG!" and I knew exactly who it was.

Besides, who else would be so freaked out about a bug?

* * *

><p><em><strong>Nudge<strong>_

"Those stupid boys and their stupid bombs," I growled, letting out a squeak when the branch I had pushed forward swung back and hit me in the back of the head.

I screamed in frustration, taking my hair down and began to pick out the minuscule twigs and leaves from my hair.

My hand met something moving and I screamed, jumping up and down and flinging my long dark brown locks around in attempt to rid my hair of the insect. "BUG! BUG! BUG! BUG! BUG!"

I pouted after I was sure the insect was gone and looked up at the sky with a groan of disdain. "Ooh~! MAX! FANG! WHERE IS EVERYONE!" I screeched, making several birds escape from their perches in the trees to find shelter elsewhere.

"God Nudge, could you be any louder?"

I gasped and spun around, fat tears swimming across my vision blurring the dark image of Fang standing just feet away from me.

"Fang! Where is everybody else?" I murmured, running to his side and clutching his hand.

He rubbed a reassuring thumb over my knuckles like he would when I was scared and frowned. "I'm not sure, I went back to the sight of the blast but nobody was there - just Eraser and fly-boy…um…remains…"

"Does that mean they all escaped the blast?" I said hopefully.

He nodded. "At least that's what I think. Everyone seemed to be pretty far before the bomb went off. I'm sure they're fine. We should probably head for Dr. Martinez's home - I'm sure they are all headed there now."

I laughed gently as Fang let go of my hand and unfurled his raven-black wings. "Y'know, I think that's the longest sentence I've ever heard you say!"

He simply rolled his eyes and set off into the air - me following the second-in-command closely behind.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Max<strong>_

I had no idea how far I flew.

No idea how long I flew.

And I had no idea where I was.

It was cold, that was all I could tell. My body was laying in something cold and powdery.

'_Snow?'_ I thought, not even trying to open my eyes.

Numb.

The cold made my body numb - so numb I couldn't feel any of the pain from the fall.

None of the pain from the explosion.

The only pain I felt was in my heart - the fear that the flock was injured…or worse.

It was my job to keep them safe, safe from the Erasers, safe from the whitecoats, safe from even the common cold! But I had failed…I was supposed to be the leader, and I had fail at that…

Again…

My lip trembled and I turned my head with the only ounce of strength I had to press my face into the snow with a chocked sob.

I didn't want to think about it but…I knew they couldn't possibly be alive - I was the only one fast enough to escape.

'**Don't always think about the worst possible situation, Max'**

'_Well, Voice. Been awhile hasn't it?'_

'**Max, the others are-'**

'_Sh_ut up' I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut, forcing the Voice out of my head. _'Just leave me alone!'_

When I was sure he wouldn't answer, I let my eyes flutter open, nearly closing them when I realized my strength was nearly non-existent. I lifted myself up into a semi-sitting position looking at the snowed ground beneath me with a sour expression before gazing at my surroundings - taking in the sparse foliage and the road beyond the trees just a hundred meters ahead of me.

"I must be in Canada already…or maybe…I wonder if the north pole has trees?"

I slowly raised onto my feet with trembling legs - like a newborn deer taking it's first steps. I leaned against a random tree before pushing forward and stumbling my way to the road. I looked down either way of the road, seeing the back of a road sign made me head off towards it.

I ducked under the sign and stepped back to look at the green metal with a look of confusion.

"Alaska?" I muttered in disbelief, looking on down the snowy road with a frown before looking back the other way while wrapping my arms tightly around my body.

I clenched my teeth as tears began to spill over my eyes, and I wiped them away before they could freeze. I quickly unfurled my wings, and ignoring the ripping pain in my back and my nonexistent energy, and took off to the sky, flying off in a random direction.

For almost ten minutes I flew, gliding over the growing forest before I began to falter in my down strokes.

The cold wind had irritated my burnt wings, and my eyes began to droop as my breathing became heavy as the air burned at my cold throat.

I stumbled in the air plummeting some twenty feet before I caught the air again - slowing my fall - then plummeting the remaining distance to the snowy ground.

I let the tears come through this time - not even caring if they froze or not.

"Damn it…If only….If only I had been a good leader, we wouldn't have ended up like this."

I didn't even bother putting my wings away, letting them lay limp out on either side of me as I lay still on my stomach.

At one point a dark form swam through my vision, slowly moving toward me. My vision was blurred by frozen tears, but I could almost make out the figure to be a woman.

And before I passed out, a set of fingers - even colder than the snow - brushed over my cheek and a melodic voice rang in my ears.

"Rest Angel, I will watch over you."

And then I blacked out.


	3. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or Twilight - and if I did, vampires wouldn't sparkle XD**_

_Chapter 1_

_**The Gasman**_

I had been awoken by the fast jostling of my body and the frigid cold that wrapped around my small frame. My head rested on a small curve as the thing I lay on moved. I let out a small groan and my teeth chattered and I lifted my arms to wrap around my body to protect myself from the cold. As I did, my arm brushed against a hard curve below where my head was rested.

Slowly I opened my eyes and looked down to see a clothed chest.

One with boobs.

I blushed and let out a scream, quickly hitting the person and pushing the person away as I fell to the ground, hitting my sore head against the ground as I did.

I grasped the forming bump and looked up at a pale - make that VERY pale - woman standing above me, her eyes widened in shock just as if I had done something amazing.

I shifted my wing slightly, making sure it was still inside my windbreaker (which it was) and stared back up at the blond woman.

She was tall - about as tall as Max. She had unusually pale skin, her eyes an unusual dark gold, her hair a dark blond. In her hand she held my black travel bag. She was wearing - from what Nudge had been ranting about (it's not like I knew all this stuff before hand) - a pair of black capris and a white blouse with wedged heels.

What she was wearing heels for in the middle of the forest I had no clue.

Her shock immediately vanished when she realized I was clutching my head and she kneeled down to look me in the eye.

"Are you alright?" she whispered, her voice sounding like a bell. "I didn't mean to drop you - you're unusually strong for such a little kid…"

"I'm not a kid!" I protested, pouting at her.

Her red-lipstick covered lips twitched and tightened as she tried to hold back a laugh. "Of course you're not…How old are you?"

I blushed and averted my gaze. "Nine…" I muttered.

She let out a small laugh at my expression. "Do you have a name?"

I gulped and looked up at her.

'_Should I lie?'_

"The Gasman…or Gazzy."

Her eyebrows furrowed and she frowned. "Gasman? Who's name is the Gasman?"

I glared up at her and growled, shocking the blond. "It's my name, got a problem with that?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, it's just an unusual name. Creative, but unusual."

I nodded and gave her a blank look. "That's what I thought." I looked around at my surroundings again, finding that I was still in the forest that I had woken in. "Um…where am I?" I finally asked, looking back up at the woman.

"You're in the forest right out of Forks, Washington. I found you unconscious at the bottom of a small cliff. It's a miracle you only got out of it with a couple bruises and a bump on your head."

Suddenly I heard a quick rush of air headed towards us and my ear perked up, quickly snapping my head to the left to watch an ENORMOUS man step out of the brush.

"Rose what's going…on?" he stopped when he looked down at me, blinking and giving the woman a raised eyebrow. "Really Rose? Your that desperate that you'd go off and kidnap one?" he joked, about what I wasn't sure.

"Oh shut up. I found him unconscious in the woods, and I was just bringing him back to let Carlisle take a look at his head." she said with a frown, before looking back at me, her smile reappearing. "Can you stand?"

I nodded and pushed myself up to stand next to her. Without me even thinking, I slipped my hand into her abnormally cold one and smiled up at the blond.

She showed her pearly whites with a grin and pulled me along gently through the woods, the large man standing next to her on her other side, his hand snaking around her thin waist and took my backpack from her dainty fingers.

I blinked up at the two then stared at the man. "Are you on steroids or something?"

The blond burst out laughing as the man frowned and scratched his head. "Nope, this is cold hard muscle. You're a strange kid you know that?"

I nodded. "Eh, believe me. I'm stranger than I look."

He grinned and pulled his arm away from the woman named Rose to ruffle my spiky blond hair.

"Hey!" I screamed, reaching up and swatting his hand away with a grin.

"Rosalie, Emmett. Who in the world is this child?"

I looked back forward to see that we had arrived at a mansion-like white house - several of the walls comprised of glass. In front of the house stood an older woman, probably not any older that Rosalie, as the woman had called her, her hair a dirty blond in color.

"Oh Esme, is Carlisle home yet?" Rosalie asked, pulling me up toward the house as I continued to gape up at the white mansion.

"Yes, he's up in his study. But…who is this?" she said, crouching down to my height.

Oh how I hate being short.

"Gazzy," I mumbled, and found myself stepping closer to Rosalie's side, my face half-hidden by her arm.

The Esme woman smiled, and I noticed that her eyes too were a dark shade of gold.

She simply grinned. "Well Gazzy, it's nice to meet you. My name's Esme. Rosalie and Emmett here are my adoptive children."

'_Adoptive children my nine-year old ass. She looks barely a day over twenty-five'_

"C'mon Gazzy, let's go get you fixed up!" Rosalie said cheerfully.

She brought me up nearly three flights of stairs and smiled each time I gaped out the large windows out into the expanse of forest around the house. I almost missed the large frame with the rows of graduation caps hanging from the wall of the staircase.

She led me down a short hallway before stopping in front of an open door to look at a young blond man (what's with all the blonds?) sitting at a single desk in the room, his eyes already raised as if he had expected us.

"Rosalie? Is something wrong?"

She smiled and motioned down to me as I stared cautiously at the man. "I found him unconscious in the woods. He had quite a bump on his head and from the looks of it, any bleeding that there was had stopped awhile ago.

'_Blood?'_ I thought, reaching up to touch at the tender spot on my head to find my spiky blond locks were crusted dry near the bump.

"Bring him here," the man said quickly, pulling his chair to the front of the desk, before rolling another one over for me to sit on.

He pulled a bunch of anesthetic creams and stuff from a cabinet on the other side of the room. The smell of the liquids made me stiffen and the hair on the back of my head stand on end. It wasn't until he moved back towards me and I saw the needles on the shelf behind him did I freak out.

I shot up quickly - shocking the man almost into dropping the medicines in his hands when he saw how quickly I moved - and I sprinted to hide behind Rosalie, my eyes never straying from the needle as I clutched her top as if it were a lifeline.

"Gazzy! What's wrong?" Rosalie whispered, turning her torso to look down at me with wide eyes.

I shook my head and whimpered, continuing to stare at the needle as flashes of the few memories from when I had still been in the school before Jeb had taken us away.

Rosalie's head shot up and she looked at what I saw, pointing to it. "Carlisle, shut the cabinet!"

He walked back over and closed the metal doors turning back to look at me as a settled down, but continued to clutch at Rosalie's side.

"What was that all about?" she asked.

I shook my head and released her now wrinkled shirt before rubbing my eyes. "Needles…" I mumbled. "Lets just say they bring back bad memories is all."

The two shared a wary glance before Rosalie led me over to the chair and sat me down again, allowing the man named Carlisle to check my head.

His fingers were ice cold and hard - much like Rosalie's hand from earlier. I paid it no mind and simply swung my feet tiredly as he looked at the bump.

"H'm…this has healed up pretty quickly. How long ago did you find him?" he asked Rosalie.

She frowned. "About fifteen minutes ago, why?"

He blinked at her then looked back down at my head before cocking his head to the side as if he were listening to something. He quickly grabbed my wrist, and I nearly pulled back in fright and held back a whimper of pain when the movements irritated the blistering burns on the back of my arms and along my spine, but then I realized he was only checking my pulse.

My eyes widened when his did. _'Crap…he probably things I'm gonna have a heart attack'_

"Dear god-"

"It's okay!" I said quickly, pulling my arm back from him, and rubbing my wrist. "Um, it's supposed to be that fast…" I murmured, hoping he hadn't heard me, but his eyes widened and he glanced up at Rosalie over my shoulder before looking back in my eyes with a nod.

"I…see. Well, your head seems to be okay, just a little bump now - it'll be sore for a little while. But I think you can pull through," he said smiling and returning to the cabinet - making sure he hid it's contents from my view.

"Gazzy…your jacket is burned…" Rosalie murmured from behind me, her fingers brushing over my back. Her finger found the slit in the jacket and I tightened my wings against my back as my body stiffened.

'_Crap, Crap, Double Crap'_ I thought as I began to panic, hoping her finger didn't find their way to my wings.

"And it's torn…" she finished, pulling her hands back to look at me. "What happened?"

I frowned and slowly unzipped the jacket, tossing it onto the floor behind me. My wings were tucked so far under my shoulder blades I was sure they would break from the strain, and luckily I had changed my shirt when I did, or I would have had _too_ much explaining to do.

She gasped and lifted my arm gingerly, examining the irritated burns along their backs. "Oh my god…Gazzy…You look like you went through a forest fire!" she screeched.

I winced at her tone, my hands flying up to rub at my hypersensitive ears while giving her a sheepish grin. "Um…it's a long story actually."

She raised an eyebrow as if asking for me to elaborate.

I opened my mouth as if I were gong to speak before dashing through the door as fast as I could.

The ability to out run a cheetah seems to help me a lot in situations like these.

I ignored the fact that the man still had my backpack, and that I had left my windbreaker up in the room - I dashed down the three flights of stairs before I reached the front door.

Almost as soon as I left the threshold I felt as if I had run straight into a brick wall, a hard arm circling around my waist to keep me still. I shot my head up to look at the man named Emmett staring down at me with wide eyes.

"What the hell…How did you-"

"GAZZY!"

I flinched and looked back to see Rosalie, Carlisle and Esme standing opposite of the doorway, expressions of disbelief being the dominant emotion on each of their faces.

'_I am so screwed'_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Iggy<strong>_

My ears strained to hear the soft footsteps in the trees. They were so soft and sounded anything but human. Faintly I heard a breathy snort and my body stiffened as the smell of wet dog met my nose - my body trembling from the tension as I strained the muscles in my legs - getting ready to make a hasty exit.

I could hear another set of sounds accompanying it and the tension in the air was making me want to just run for it.

And I did.

I shot up from my sitting position - gritting my teeth as my movements tugged at my broken wing - but ignored the screaming sharp jabs and ran for it, clutching my shoulder for support.

I tripped and stumbled, bouncing off trees and brush in my rush. Tears burned in my blind eyes as fear surged through my brain, muddling my senses. I could barely hear the soft padding of paws on the wet ground behind me alerting me in their chase.

A lump formed in my throat - these sounds were so familiar to me - so much so that I felt as if I were that eleven-year-old again, running through that enormous forest with the Erasers chasing close behind.

Suddenly, I found myself sprawled out on the forest floor, gasping as the air was forced from my lungs on impact. I trembled and dragged myself through the dirt till I found my fingers brushing against a tree and I hoisted myself up onto trembling legs.

My body shook with ragged breaths and I began to feel light headed, my weak legs failing me and sending me onto my knees - leaning against the tree.

My heart thudded faster in my chest than it had ever before - and believe me that's pretty fast - as the sound of my awaiting doom made its way through the trees. The person (or thing) was slowly circling around the trees around me and I grit my teeth.

"W-Who's there!" I shouted, gasping and wiping my forehead with the dirt-coverd backside of my hand "Where…hah… are you?"

The sounds stopped for a moment, before resuming and coming towards me and stopping and allowing the silence to ensue.

"Damn it! WHERE ARE YOU! SHOW YOURSELF!" I screamed, turning my head in each direction, hoping I could catch the simplest glimpse of color - but the darkness of the forest kept my blind eyes from seeing anything. I just let my head fall back against the damp tree and panted, my head beginning to throb with a massive headache.

Another small rustle reached my ears and the sound of fabric shifting as if someone were dressing.

'_Dear god, it's not a pedophile is it?'_

"You…are not human are you?" a male voice said, from in front of me.

"Finally, someone who doesn't want to act like an ass," I muttered. "And yes, you're correct. I'm not _entirely_ human. Let me guess? The wing gave it away?" I said sarcastically.

I heard a bark like laugh from my right, and a couple of snort like breaths on my left. That's when the smell of wet dog hit my nose once again and I grimaced at the unplesant smell.

Damned my sniffer.

"So, Eraser? How did you find me? I thought that bomb burnt you guys to a crisp…" I asked with a sneer, looking back ahead to where the only man I had located stood.

"I do not know what this 'Eraser' thing you speak of is - but that so called bomb you set off damaged a large portion of our territory," the man growled, this time his voice coming from above me. "Look at me when I speak to you!"

My head shot up to where I believed his face was and gave a sly grin. "Well, I would, but if you'd stop moving around like a f-ing shadow - I might be able to find where you are half the time. Being blind tends to make it extremely hard to find you."

"….Blind?" the man said. "…Well that seems to explain some things…But tell me, why are you destroying our land?"

I glared up at the man - or at least where I assumed where the man stood - and growled. "That is none of your business."

Several growls echoed around me and I stiffened. _'If they weren't Erasers, then what were they - cause there sure as hell isn't a human who can make a sound like that - other than maybe Gazzy when he's eaten too many beans…'_

"Actually," the man started, grabbing at the front of my shirt and lifting me onto my feet with a quick, harsh tug, "I believe it is - this is our territory, and you will follow our rules. That is, unless, you've decided to be dismembered like one of those leeches…"

I quirked an eyebrow. "Leeches? Like one of those parasites you find in swamps and stuff?"

"Not exactly…" the man said with a grunt. "You're coming with us."

He tugged me forward and I screamed as my limp wing became caught on a small branch - lurching the broken appendage away from my shoulder. "GOD DAMNIT!" I screamed, pulling myself from his grasp and falling to my knees again as I reached to dislodge my wing from the brush.

"Your wing is broken?" the man said, his voice almost devoid of emotion.

"Well duh!" I shouted, groaning as I became lightheaded from the unbearable pain - and not to mention my singed skin didn't help either.

"Do not anger me - or you will not live long. Most unwanted…creatures…are not allowed to live long without our permission. If you wish to live much longer - I suggest you keep quiet."

I gulped and begun to stand up, the man grabbing my arm. The world swirled around me - well the darkness atleast - until I found myself passing out, and when I had finally come to, I found myself laid out on couch, a white ceiling above my head.

I blinked for a moment and rubbed my eyes with the back of my hand, groaning when I pulled at my broken wing folded against my back as I sat up.

I listened closely to the rest of the house - at least I presumed it was a house from the stuff I could see against the white walls - and the sound of several rapid heartbeats reaching my ears. '_The rest of the flock? No, there's too many…' _I thought, my ears twitching when footsteps made their way towards the room I lay in.

I looked up and could see the blurry figure of a dark man standing in the doorway before he stepped in and stood perfectly in front of the white wall (thank god for people who hate painting) to where I could see him.

He was tall! As tall as me if not towering inches above my over six foot frame. His skin was a dark brown, his face revealing that he was from some type of Native American heritage. He stood there simply in a pair of pants, leaving his muscled chest bare.

"I though you said you were blind?" he said, narrowing his eyes when he saw that I was examining him.

I nodded. "I am, but if someone or something is standing in front of something white, I can see it. And believe me, I still don't understand it myself."

He simply raised an eyebrow at me and watched me closely before his head snapped to the door as several other men stepped into the small room - and I assumed they were also Native American but couldn't exactly see anything cause there were so many they blocked the white of the wall behind themselves and everything became black again for me.

"And now I'm blind again," I muttered.

"So, you are an angel I presume. What is a holy creature such as you doing destroying-" the man started.

"Wait, an angel? That's what you think I am?" I chuckled lightly, smirking at the man naive notion.

"Well, it was either that or an abnormally large bird that talks, you choose," one of the voice said, this one female and sarcastic - just like Max.

I shook my honey blond locks with a chuckle. "Nope, nothing about me is holy - unless you call the ability to make a bomb out of anything a celestial gift or something."

I could tell I had dumbfounded the group because they began to murmur suspiciously.

"Then…what are you?" the youngest of the voices I had heard thus far asked.

I blinked at the group and frowned. "I don't exactly think I should be telling you that - besides, you don't exactly smell entirely human to me either…"

"You will not learn anything until you tell us why you were blowing up the forest for no apparent reason."

"Oh, I had a perfectly good reason…"

"And what was it?" the man growled, becoming angered by my stalling.

"I was being attacked by Erasers - hundreds in fact."

"What's an Eraser?" another voice asked.

I sighed and rubbed the bridge of my nose. It was no point in keeping it from them - unless I planned on being 'dismembered' as they had put it.

"Genetically enhanced humans. Half-man, half-wolf - all deadly." I said simply.

I could practically feel half the room stiffen after what I had said.

"Half…wolf?" the man said, his voice cracking. "Could you…elaborate?"

I groaned. "Um, well I don't really know much of what they look like _exactly_, seeing as I've never actually seen one. But what I do know is they are usually _very_ good-looking, like supermodel worthy…um…when they morph they only ever stand on two feet…"

"I see…" the man said. "And what does this make you?"

I bit my lip.

'_Max is so going to kill me…'_

"I'm the result of the screwed up experiments from the mind of some even more screwed up people. I was born with 98% human and 2% avian DNA."

"That…doesn't sound pleasant," the man murmured, his tone becoming soft with concern.

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, what are you? Your heart beats are abnormally fast to be completely human, and you smell like wet dogs."

"We…are werewolves."

I laughed out, clutching my stomach _as_ knots began to form in the tightened muscles of my abdomen. "Oh god, that's a good one. But really, what are you?"

The room was deathly silent and I blinked as nobody responded. "Wait…your serious?"

'_Holy shit…Wait till Max hears about this'_

_**Sorry if Iggy's POV seemed a little rushed in terms of learning about the characters - I just had a little trouble with making it long~ XD**_

_**PLEASE REVIEW! REVIEW MEANS LOVE AND I KNOW I LOVE MY READERS!**_

_**And please -tell me if anything I write is wrong because unfortunately, it has been awhile since I've actually had the pleasure of reading either series and I'm simply going by current knowledge and wiki.**_

_**If there is a beta reading this who know a lot about either series - please contact me - I would appreciate your help~**_


	4. Chapter 3

_**Okay, so I understand its been a little while since I've updated this - sorry guys. I've had this written for awhile and was contemplating whether or not to include Max into the chapter or not XD. I'm just having a little trouble writing the characters because it's been quite awhile since I actually sat down an read through the books (oddly enough I've only read as far as MAX).**_

_**If anyone would be willing to become my beta (one who either has experience in writing Twilight and Maximum Ride stories or has read the books recently and are good with corrections and characterization) please feel free to contact me :D**_

_**Once it gets to the parts with Fang and Nudge, I'll have it rotate between the two once it comes to them instead of just repeating the same story in a different point of view (which is kind of boring).**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or Twilight - if I did then there would have been a sequel after Breaking Dawn**_

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

_**Angel**_

I stared closely at the cottage for a moment - and I knew for sure there were people inside.

'_Four adults and one child…_I thought, listening closely to the movements inside. Something seemed off to me. Nobody moved that silently unless you were Fang - and even then it seemed unreal.

For one, the only things I could hear were the small movements of the child - the adults were rather still in comparison.

A small click alerted me that the people were exiting the cottage and I kept as still as possible - holding my breath as I waited for them to depart.

The people moved so quickly that I didn't even bother to follow their path with my eyes - and I continued onto the house and shut the wooden-latched door behind me.

It was a rather homey place - a small room with a large crib situated right off the entrance. From there was a small kitchen, comprising of nothing but a fridge.

My eyebrows furrowed and I hesitantly made my way to the black fridge, opening it with a trembling hand as my stomach growled loudly - hoping to find something worth eating inside.

To my horror, nearly half the fridge was filled with sets of bottles filled with thick crimson liquid - that I quickly recognized by the strong iron smell that wafted from the fridge to be blood.

I covered my mouth in disgust. _'Oh dear god, I've found a home of cannibals!' _I screamed mentally.

I kept myself from staring at the bottles, and instead divided my attention to the few glasses of baby food occupying the fridge. I quickly snatched as many as I could - not even caring for their flavor, and snapped their tops open before devour the milky contents quicker than humanly possible.

I grimaced and stuck out my tounge as I had finished off my thirteenth glass of puréed spinach and shut the fridge - deciding to go off and find myself something I could use to wrap my hands with.

In another room over, I found a near empty room - save for an enormous plush bed set in the middle of the room, a large set of french doors looking out onto a beautiful garden that took my breath away, and an equally large double-door on the opposite wall.

'_This is the strangest house I've ever been into - although it's not like I've been in many houses before…'_

I started to make my way to the doors before stopping and looking at the bed with envious eyes. It just looked so soft and inviting…And I hadn't had a good nights rest since our departure from Dr. Martinez's former home back in Arizona.

I reached out with a tentative hand and nearly moaned in pleasure when my blistered hands met contact with the cotton soft cold sheets.

Without a second thought I laid myself face-down on the bed with a sigh of happiness, rubbing my cheek against the sheets as if they were a soft animal - and they certainly felt like it.

Without even realizing, I had dozed off for some time - when I was awakened by a soft click from the front door - inaudible to a normal human ears from such a distance.

"Someone's in here," I voice hissed so softly I had to strain my ears to listen.

"It smells human…at least I think it is - there's something off about it - too sweet," another voice uttered - speaking just as soft.

My eyes widened and I slowly lifted myself from the bed, taking slow steady steps towards the closet in attempt to hide myself from the owners of the cottage.

"Well, they were definitely hungry - they ate all of Renesmee's baby food - although, it's not like she like them anyway," another soft voice whispered - this one I could identify as being female.

Although mind-reading came easy to me, it made it difficult to do once my body was exhausted - as it was right now, I could barely hear the whispers of words from their thoughts.

I had made my way into the closet, but unfortunately, lady luck did not seem to be in my favor today. Because the moment I shut the door - the springing mechanism made a small click as it sprung back into place - and I knew I had to hide quickly before they could search the room.

I turned to find that the closet was rather large - and in no place could I find any shelter as all of the clothes hung feet above the ground. I just settled into pressing myself between a small dresser in the corner and the wall - my small body accompanying the space quite snugly.

I couldn't hear anything anymore - almost as if the people had vanished - and I became to worry. My small heart beat rapidly in my chest, faster than it's normal hummingbird like rhythm.

Suddenly a face appeared above me and I let out a scream of fright, burying my face into my knees while wailing, "Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry!"

"Shh, shh. It's alright. Here, stand up."

I looked up shyly at the stranger to see a pale brown-haired woman, orange-crimson eyes staring down at me with a gentle gaze. She held her hand out to me as she crouched to my height, beckoning me out of the small space.

I sniffed as I could feel my nose begin to plug up with my stress and slowly placed my hand into hers - trying not to flinch when my skin met her cold stone-like flesh.

'_This poor girl, no wonder she broke in - she looks like she went to hell and back' _I could hear the woman think as she pulled me into a standing position and frowned down at me.

"What happened to you? What on earth are you doing out here in the middle of the woods?" she asked.

I lowered my gaze, not even bothering to look at the three other figures off in the corner of my vision. "I…I was in an accident - I got separated from the rest of my family." I looked up at her with my big blue eyes and let them water. "Please don't kill me," I whimpered.

Her eyes grew wide. "K-Kill you?" she said nervously. "What makes you think we'll kill you?"

"You had human blood in your fridge!" I shouted.

She gave a small sad smile and avoided my gaze. "W-Well…"

"Our daughter's heart has trouble producing blood, so we require to have large amounts of it in the house at all times," a male voice spoke.

I turned to see a copper haired man approach - his skin so pale it seemed translucent.

I stared at him for a moment as I peeked into his mind and said, "Y'know, it's cruel to lie to a child."

He cocked an eyebrow and his eyes flashed between the woman and back to me. "Well, why don't we get you fixed up? You look like you're in a bit of pain," he said, avoiding my statement easily.

I narrowed my eyes and watched as the man placed a fake smile on his face, his mind was betraying him - but his thoughts were going too fast for me to pick up.

But one thing I knew, they were hiding something - something big.

But, wasn't I doing just the same?

**Fang**

After Nudge's fussing about how we should look for the others in the immediate area - just in case if anyone was still behind, I had finally given in and allowed the twelve-year-old to have her wish and we flew over the same area for nearly an hour.

"Nudge, it's no use. That explosion was huge. For all we know they could have been blow to the next state!" I complained, pulling back and allowing myself to float in the sky with even down strokes.

"And how do you know that-"

"I don't, but the best thing we can do is wait for them at Dr Martinez's house."

Nudge frowned and stared at me with sad brown eyes. "I…I guess your right. Y'know what? I bet Max is there waiting for us with a big plate of chocolate chip cookies and milk! Oh, Max's mom makes the best cookies! Hey do you think-"

"Nudge?" I sighed.

She looked at me with a frown. "Yes, Fang?"

"Why don't we play a little game of silence, 'k?"

She nodded in bewilderment and followed me as I took back off in the direction we had been headed before the whole Eraser fiasco. After a few minutes of flight - the silence was broken once again by Nudge's voice.

"Fang…those Erasers…weren't they not supposed to be after us anymore? And how did they know where we were in the first place? They shouldn't even exist anymore!"

I shook my head slowly and dipped closer to Nudge, letting the tips of my wings brush against her's with each stroke. "I don't know how to answer that Nudge. But, right now we should worry about other things."

With that, the silence ensued again before it was broken once again several minutes later by the sound of a low growling coming from my stomach.

Nudge let off a small giggle and I blushed, but chuckled soon after when her stomach growled as well.

"I think now would be a good time to stop for food," I said, looking down at the road we flew over and the few buildings that we passed by. We landed behind a small town diner and made our way towards the dumpster.

"Wait!" Nudge squeaked, jogging off towards the front of the building, and I followed closely behind her. We peeked around the edge and watched as a woman pocketed a small clip of cash into her coat pocket before pulling out a phone and busying herself with a call.

"Fang?" she said, gazing at me with an unheard question.

I sighed and stood, lazily walking towards the woman. As I passed, I dipped my index and middle finger into her pocket, quickly coming back with the cash - the woman completely unaware that she was being pick pocketed as she continued her mindless babbling into her cell.

Nudge ran to my side and gave a small smile. "I know it's not right to do stuff like this - sorry - I just really am starting to get sick of dumpster diving."

I ruffled her dark hair and stepped into the diner after making sure I hadn't looked like we had gone through a blender - and we were seated at a small table in the corner by a small perky blond waitress who would flutter her eyelashes and lean her chest close to me.

Of course, none of this even fazed me - my eyes were for only one girl after all - and I simply let her take my order without paying her advances any attention.

"Six burgers, three orders of sweet potato fries, four cokes…Nudge, anything else?"

Nudge nodded. "Ooh! And two orders of cherry cobbler!"

The waitress nodded and stared down at the pad for a moment and said, "Do you have others coming too?"

We shook our heads and she simply gave a shaky grin before going off to put in our order.

My gaze wandered around the diner for a moment before my eyes settled on the tv hanging on the wall opposite of us. My eyes widened when I saw what was being projected on the news and I pointed at out to Nudge.

"_We are currently flying over the source of the explosion from earlier today. Sources say the cause of the explosion is unknown - although experts say it was caused by a small home made explosive, most likely the attempt to-"_

I stopped listening to it and looked at the area they were viewing closely, something looking different to me.

"The bodies…" I breathed, my eyes widening. "They're gone…"

"What?" Nudge said, turning back to look at me. "What are you talking about?"

"The Erasers and the fly-boys are all gone, they were everywhere - but they're gone!" I said to her, my eyes not straying from the television.

She looked at the screen then back at me with worried eyes. "You don't think whoever cleaned it up, is still nearby do you?"

I simply shrugged. "I don't know Nudge, but whoever they are - they know we're here too."

Nudge glaced fearfully around the room her hands clenching into the fabric of her pants tightly. "You don't think...they know we're actually still alive do you?"

My gave swept cautiously over the diner as I gave myself a second to think about what she was proposing. _'They couldn't possibly think we survived do they? Afterall, nearly every one of the Erasers and Fly-Boys were eradicated - and they were in the near ceter of the blast like we were, so shouldn't we also be-'_ I stopped that thought proccess almost as the thought came to me. I didn't want to think of the possibility of anything other than the Erasers being dead.

_'Max...wherever you are, you better be alright...'_


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

_MAX_

I was most definitely not okay.

I was too comfortable to be completely fine. I didn't deserve to be comfortable knowing my flock was either seriously injured or...I couldn't bear to think about anything other than their safety.

I couldn't remember much. The explosion was still ringing in my ears, clear as day. My most recent memories were the hardest to place, lined with the numbing cold of the snow I had arrived in. I recalled the ache of my bones, the violent sting of the cold are on my exposed, burned skin.

Had I managed to get anywhere? I doubted it. I could remember crying, an action that was something I was unfamiliar with ever having done on any normal occasion. It was...relieving. I would cry again, but I knew I had neither the energy, nor the motivation to revert to that child-like state again.

What had happened to the woman that saved me? Better yet, where the hell was I?

Sweet smells assaulted my nose; seemingly hundreds of flowers I couldn't name. If sunshine had a smell, this would be it; or perhaps warm cookies – great now I'm incredibly hungry too. Sometimes having your senses enhanced tends to have draw-backs, and this was certainly one of them.

I lay on a large bed, my fingers ghosting softly beneath ivory-soft sheets to search my body. I lay nearly bare beneath the rich, heavy comforter; a thin dress that felt more like a skimpy nightgown than anything clothed me, leaving my bandaged wounds easy to get to.

It was nearly silent, the soft, almost undetectable breaths of several individuals in the room around me. Four people stood around where I lay, as if expecting me to rise like a zombie from a B-movie any second. I wouldn't be doing that anytime soon, as I was too wary of whom it was that had saved me to begin with.

One of the four shifted towards me, steps softer than air on what sounded to be a hardwood floor. I could feel the chill of her hand before it even touched my forehead, but I remained still and suppressed the shiver that shot through my nerves.

"Her heart! It's grown so weak in such a short time. She was fine just this morning; what could have happened?" The voice was female, no doubt about it, as clear as a bell and beautiful to my ears.

My heart? What are they talking about? Had I been subconsciously suppressing my body, again? It would make sense, having done it before to survive in that tank several months ago.

"She seems to be purposely doing it. She is quite gifted, shutting her organs down to appear dead." This one was a man, a faint accent in the undertones of his voice. Again, his voice was loud yet ultimately clear. It was as if I had landed in the laps of a family of opera singers.

"Well, of course she is special. Did you not see the wings? An Angel in our mists is nothing to blink at, Eleazar. Special is an understatement."

Woah, woah, woah, wait. An Angel? I wasn't surprised that they had seen my wings, knowing I had left them out without much of a care in the world; but they believed I was some kind of celestial entity – and I was far from being Angel-like, let alone having any form of grace needed to even resemble one. I wouldn't have been crashing through the tree-tops otherwise.

"You do realize she is awake, right?" The third voice to be revealed was another woman, her tone amused and light.

I could only sigh and let my lip twitch softly in an attempt to smile. "And playing dead seemed like so much fun. Way to ruin it."

Slowly, I opened my eyes, and they met a set of compassionate gold ones hovering above me. A woman, probably one of the most beautiful creatures I had ever seen, sat beside my still form with her eyebrows draw into a frown on her pale, olive skin. I say creature because there was no way this woman could be anywhere close to human. She put the enhanced, model-like Eraser women to shame.

"There is no reason to be scared," she spoke softly, her chilled hand ghosting softly across my hair. "We mean you no harm, dear."

Despite her words, I felt even more wary than before. She was most definitely not human, and the closest category I could place her into was that of the School, or Itex.

I shifted slowly to the side, moving from beneath her hand and sat up in the bed, holding the comforter to my chest to keep the cold air from my bare skin. I saw three women and a single man in the room, and each as identically beautiful as the next.

"And why should I trust you? You're all obviously not human."

The first, real words that left my mouth seemed to shock them and the woman that had been stroking my hair appeared almost physically hurt by my statement.

"And you are obviously no Angel either."

I turned my gaze to the single male in the room, who stood as still as a statue with a stern, solid expression.

"Was it that obvious?" I hummed.

"You are human; otherwise I would not be able to read your abilities. However...you are far from any human I've ever seen."

"I am human...so what does that make you; Mr. Tall, Dark, and Creepy?"

His lip quirked in an almost smile and he stepped forward. "No, we are not human; as it is so obvious. If you cannot trust us, then why should we trust you with our own secret?"

The man had a point, and yet I was no fool to word play. I pushed myself up to stand, dropping the sheets to stand in the thin nightgown, ignoring the biting cold in the room. I stood much taller than the women, and was nearly level with the man in my height.

"It's not a matter of trusting me; more so how well I can keep a secret..."

He stood stock still and silent, unresponsive to my words. I huffed softly and twisted my head to look at the remainder of the room's occupants who shared fearful looks – all but a single woman who stared at me with contempt and defiance.

"Well, I like her. Human or not, she's got admirable guts." The woman to speak was one of the taller women, although stikl dwarfed by my height. Her hair was the color of straw and straight as silk. I could tell by her movements as she sauntered towards me that she as well as the others were definetly not of the normal variety of citizens.

Then again, when have I ever met anyone like that.

She reached forward, completely aware of my stiff posture yet ignored it, and twisted her finger into a curl that sat on my shoulder. "So, sweetheart, what do we call you?"

One of the other women looked onto her with fondness and exhasperation. "Kate, you're acting as if she's a pet. Try acting a bit more your age around guests."

The woman's lips turned up into a feral grin and she released my hair with a flick and held it out in a gesture of welcome. "If I did that, then I would be dust. My name is Kate Denali. Pleasure to make your aquaintance, Not-Angel."

I glared openly but reluctantly took her hand. The suspicion I had of these people was not like that of what I had towards most. I felt as if I were safe, if that was anything to worry about, and yet somehow I knew that the people before me - human or not, were not affilliated with Itex. My instincts made me wary, not of danger, but my curiosity towards the mystery of this inhuman gathering of Opera-singing, georgeous people.

"My name is Max, Maximum Ride."

Afterall, since when have my instincts ever been wrong?


End file.
